Amendment C153 Whitehorse Planning Scheme - 15-31 Hay Street, Box Hill ... C1… · My name is Stephen John Hunt and I am a consultant traffic engineer with Cardno Victoria. ... accordance

Amendment C153 Whitehorse Planning Scheme - 15-31 Hay Street, Box Hill South

Traffic Engineering Assessment CG140618

Prepared for Canaan Holdings Pty Ltd 10 September 2014

Amendment C153 Whitehorse Planning Scheme - 15-31 Hay Street, Box Hill South

Traffic Engineering Assessment CG140618

Amendment C153 Whitehorse Planning Scheme - 15-31 Hay Street, Box Hill South Traffic Engineering Assessment

10 September 2014 Cardno ii

Document Information Prepared for Canaan Holdings Pty Ltd Project Name Traffic Engineering Assessment File Reference CG140618REP001F01.docx Job Reference CG140618 Date 10 September 2014

Contact Information Cardno Victoria Pty Ltd Trading as Cardno ABN 47 106 610 913 150 Oxford Street, Collingwood Victoria 3066 Australia Telephone: (03) 8415 7777 Facsimile: (03) 8415 7788 International: +61 3 8415 7777 [email protected] www.cardno.com

Document Control Version Date Author Author

Initials Reviewer Reviewer

Initials

F01 10/09/14 Stephen Hunt SH James Dear JD

© Cardno. Copyright in the whole and every part of this document belongs to Cardno and may not be used, sold, transferred, copied or reproduced in whole or in part in any manner or form or in or on any media to any person other than by agreement with Cardno.

This document is produced by Cardno solely for the benefit and use by the client in accordance with the terms of the engagement. Cardno does not and shall not assume any responsibility or liability whatsoever to any third party arising out of any use or reliance by any third party on the content of this document.


10 September 2014 Cardno iii

Table of Contents 1 Introduction 5

2 Subject Proposal 6 2.1 Description 6 2.2 Council Consideration of Application 6 2.3 Vic Roads Referral Response and Draft Permit Condition 6

3 Relevant Planning History 8 3.1 Amendment C31 8 3.2 988 Canterbury Road 9

4 Existing Conditions 10 4.1 Site Location 10 4.2 Road Network 10 4.3 Traffic Volumes 13 4.4 Traffic Previously Generated By Subject Site 16

4.4.1 Hays International College 16 4.4.2 St. Leo’s Boys College 16

4.5 Public Transport 17 5 External Traffic Impact 18

5.1 Traffic Generation and Distribution 18 5.2 Intersection Capacity and Operation 19 5.3 SIDRA Analysis 20 5.4 Traffic Increases in Neighbouring Residential Street 21

6 Review of Vic Roads Conditions 23 6.1 Audit Map of Community Facilities 23 6.2 Need for Improved Pedestrian Facilities on Canterbury Road 23 6.3 Impact of Development at 988 Canterbury Road 24 6.4 Crash Stats Review 24 6.5 Review of Mitigating Works Options 24

6.5.1 Retention of Existing Traffic Control and Access Arrangements 24 6.5.2 Signalisation of Hay Street / Canterbury Road Intersection 24 6.5.3 Road Closures to West of Hay Street 25

7 Conclusions 26

Tables Table 2-1 Development Schedule 6 Table 4-1 Distribution of Traffic Movements into and out of the Hay Street Sub Cell 15 Table 4-2 Public Transport Services 17 Table 5-1 Development Schedule 18 Table 5-2 Critical Gap Acceptance and Follow Up Headways 19 Table 5-3 Rating of Degrees of Saturation 20 Table 5-4 SIDRA Intersection Analysis Summary 21 Table 5-5 Ultimate Daily Traffic Volumes 22 Table 6-1 Road Crash Statistics – Canterbury Road between Kitchener Street and Hay Street 24


10 September 2014 Cardno iv

Figures Figure 4-1 Site Locality 10 Figure 4-2 Canterbury Road / Hay Street / Bedford Street Intersection 11 Figure 4-3 Canterbury / Kitchener Street Intersection 12 Figure 4-4 Peppermint Grove / Canterbury Road Intersection 13 Figure 4-5 Surveyed Intersections 14 Figure 4-6 Existing AM and PM Peak Traffic Flows into and out of the Hay Street Sub Cell 15 Figure 4-7 Public Transport Services 17 Figure 5-1 Generated Turning Movements 19 Figure 5-2 Turning Movement Capacity at Critical Intersections along Canterbury Road and Station Street20 Figure 6-1 Community Facilities Audit Map 23


10 September 2014 Cardno 5

1 Introduction

My name is Stephen John Hunt and I am a consultant traffic engineer with Cardno Victoria.

I have been engaged by Best Hooper on behalf of Canaan Holdings Pty Ltd to undertake a review of a concurrent Planning Scheme Amendment and Planning Permit application for land at 15 – 31 Hay Street Box Hill South and to provide my opinions with respect to the traffic engineering implications of the proposal.

The land, which is currently occupied by Hays International College, was formally occupied by St Leos International College, operating as a secondary school campus and sports facility.

In particular, I have been requested to review Vic Roads Conditions 28, 29 and 30 of the draft permit for the Planning Permit application issued by Whitehorse Council and prepare a report in relation to the matters contained in the conditions.

This report, which provides my opinions with respect to the likely traffic impact of the proposed development and concerns raised by Vic Roads in relation to external traffic management options, has been prepared in accordance with the Planning Panels Victoria “Guide to Expert Evidence”. A summary of my qualifications and experience to form the views expressed in this report are attached in Appendix A.

I have previously considered the traffic engineering implications of a development proposal on the subject site, presenting expert evidence to the Panel convened to consider Amendment C 31 to the Whitehorse Planning Scheme in April 2002.



2 Subject Proposal

2.1 Description The current proposal for the site at 15-30 Hay Street, Box Hill South contemplates rezoning of the land to a Residential Growth Zone and General Residential Zone. Additionally, a concurrent planning permit application is proposed that will allow for construction of a mixed-use development comprising residential, retirement village, food and drink premises and shop use.

Specifically, the proposal includes the uses as described in Table 2-1.

Table 2-1 Development Schedule Use Number / Area

Standard Living

Detached Houses 17

Townhouses 26

Apartments 171

Retirement Living

Detached Houses 43

Apartments 53

Retail (Ancillary)

Cafe 258 m2

Convenience Shop 52 m2

Speciality 50 m2

Access to the site is proposed via three crossovers to Hay Street along the western boundary of the site and will include a crossover at the northern and southern ends of the site and one located centrally.

The two southern accesses will effectively form cross intersections with Jellicoe Street and Halsey Street.

2.2 Council Consideration of Application Council considered the application in July 2014, and Council traffic engineers were generally supportive of the proposal. Based on traffic modelling within the GTA report that was submitted with the application, they considered that:

> The intersections of Canterbury Road / Hay Street, Canterbury Road / Peppermint Grove and Canterbury Road / Kitchener Street would operate with a satisfactory level of service following development of the site.

> The traffic volumes expected along Jellicoe Street and Halsey Street of 590 vehicles per day (should a permit issue), represent a doubling in the daily traffic volumes along these streets. This is likely to be noticeable to residents of these streets; however this level of traffic can be readily accommodated given the road widths and existing level of vehicle movements.

> Post development traffic volumes on Hay Street, Kitchener Street, Foch Street, Jellicoe Street and Halsey Street are not anticipated to exceed the indicative maximum traffic volumes for an Access Street – Level 1 of 2,000 vehicles per day (as indicated in the Planning Scheme)

2.3 Vic Roads Referral Response and Draft Permit Condition Noting the subject site does not propose access to Canterbury Road or the arterial road network, Vic Roads were not technically a statutory referral authority. However given the large scale of the development and the proximity to Canterbury Road, they were advised of the application by Council.



The following items were requested by VicRoads and incorporated as draft permit conditions:

28. An audit map showing the community facilities the residents of the development will use and how and what modes of transport that the residents are expected to use to access these facilities. This information was required for VicRoads to make an informed decision on whether any new pedestrian facilities are required on Canterbury Road.

29. A revised Traffic Impact Assessment Report taking into consideration the traffic generated by the recently approved development at 988 Canterbury Road, Box Hill South.

30. Further traffic analysis including the following:

i. A review on the crash history along Canterbury Road between Kitchener Street and Hay Street is required, to identify whether there are existing operational issues involving right turn movements to and from Canterbury Road.

ii. The traffic analysis must identify what road upgrade works are required to mitigate the development impact on the operation of Canterbury Road.

iii. The traffic analysis must provide a balanced assessment of all potential mitigating road upgrade works against their impact on operation and safety of Canterbury Road.

iv. One of the potential road upgrade works must include the signalisation of Canterbury/Hay/Bedford intersection



3 Relevant Planning History

3.1 Amendment C31 In 2002, Amendment C31 to the City of Whitehorse Planning Scheme was submitted to rezone the subject site to a Residential 1 Zone and include the land within a Development Plan Overlay to allow a maximum of 300 dwellings on the site.

The matter was referred by Council to an Independent Panel appointed by the Minister of Planning. I was requested by the applicant in that matter to assess the proposal and provide expert evidence on the traffic implications for consideration by the Panel.

The development proposal contemplated an integrated residential development containing up to 300 dwellings including a mixture of one, two and three bedroom dwellings, in both townhouse and apartment style dwellings. Vehicle access to the development was proposed via two new access roads intersecting Hay Street opposite Jellicoe Street and Halsey Street.

The application, in response to community concern that traffic from the development would infiltrate from the site through the residential streets to the west, proposed to implement the following traffic management measures:

- Install traffic signals at the intersection of Canterbury Road/Hay Street/Bedford Road to allow both left and right turns into and out of Hay Street,

- Close Jellicoe Street and Halsey Street at their eastern ends isolating Hay Street from the rest of the residential cell,

- Provide hammer head treatments at the eastern end of Jellicoe and Halsey Streets to allow Council garbage trucks to perform turning manoeuvres.

My firm had previously investigated the installation of signals and had prepared a functional layout plan of the intersection of Canterbury Road / Hay Street / Bedford Street showing the proposed traffic signal treatment. This plan was submitted to Vic Roads who approved in principle the installation of signals at the intersection.

In my evidence statement, I reviewed the traffic implications of the proposal and the adequacy of the proposed traffic management works concluding that:

> Applying a rate of 6 to 8 vehicle movements per dwelling per day, the 300 dwellings were projected to generate in the order of 1,800-2,400 daily vehicle movements. This would result in total traffic flows in Hay Street at Canterbury Road of 2,550 vehicle movements per day, with the traffic management treatments proposed in place.

> The dimensions and future traffic volumes estimated for Hay Street would accord with the guidelines for Collector Streets;

> Traffic from Halsey Street and Jellicoe Street that currently uses Hay Street would divert to Kitchener Street, increasing daily volumes on this road by up to 190 vehicles per day to approximately 890 vehicle movements per day.

> Traffic volumes on the surrounding streets would remain in the range typical for lower order access streets.

> SIDRA analysis of the proposed signalised intersection of Canterbury Road and Hay Street would operate well within capacity, accommodating traffic increases projected to be generated by development of the site.

I was not requested to analyse or assess alternate traffic management options to accommodate traffic generated by the development, the basis for my assessment being that Canterbury Road / Hay Street was to be signalised in association with the application.



I did however, in response to questions from the Panel, offer my opinion as to the implications of signalising Canterbury Road / Hay Street / Bedford Rd without the proposed road closures in Halsey Street and Jellicoe Street, indicating that it was highly unlikely that the installation of traffic signals without the closures would lead to infiltration of traffic into adjacent residential areas.

In relation to traffic, the Panel concluded that:

Although Hay Street has sufficient capacity to accommodate the estimated level of traffic, there is no need to close Jellicoe Street or Halsey Street at Hay Street on the contrary, neighbourhood integration would be enhanced by retaining full access.

Similarly, the signalisation of the Hay Street / Canterbury Road intersection would be of benefit to the wider community in access terms, and there is little likelihood of detrimental infiltration into the adjacent residential areas.

3.2 988 Canterbury Road A development application for the site at 988 Canterbury Road, to the immediate north of the subject site was lodged with Whitehorse Council in 2011 and ultimately refused on matters unrelated to traffic or car parking.

An application for review was lodged with VCAT and heard in mid-2013 for an amended scheme that contemplated a total of 65 dwellings, inclusive of 21 apartments, 43 townhouses and a single dwelling.

A permit for the proposed development was subsequently issued at the direction of VCAT.

Charmaine Dustan (Traffix Group) provided traffic engineering expert evidence at the hearing, with her findings summarised in the VCAT decision as summarised below:

> The proposed development was expected to generate in the order of 6 vehicle trips per day per dwelling, equating to a daily traffic generation of 390 vehicle trips per day.

> The peak hour traffic generation for this development would be in the order of 39 vehicle trips per hour, equating to approximately 1 vehicle movement every 1.5 minutes to the external road network.

Ms Dunstan determined that “traffic accessing Canterbury Road in these locations is negligible in the context of existing traffic volumes along Canterbury Road”.



4 Existing Conditions

4.1 Site Location The subject site is located on the east side of Hay Street approximately 200 metres south of the intersection between Hay Street and Canterbury Road and is addressed as 15-31 Hay Street, Box Hill South.

A view of the site in context with its surrounds is provided in Figure 4-1 below.

Figure 4-1 Site Locality

4.2 Road Network Canterbury Road is a VicRoads controlled arterial running east-west between Camberwell and Montrose and comprises two traffic lanes in either direction in the vicinity of the site.

Traffic signals control the intersections of Canterbury Road with Station Street and Middleborough Road. Pedestrian operated signals are located on Canterbury Road between Kitchener Street and Haig Street and a pedestrian overpass is situated east of Hay Street, constructed to provide a link between the former campus of St Leo’s Catholic College located in Bedford Road and Hay Street (on the subject site).

Hay Street is a local road running north-south between Canterbury Road and its terminus approximately 30 metres to the south. At the site frontage it provides an 8.0 metre pavement with one traffic lane in either direction allowing kerbside parallel parking on both sides.

Hay Street intersects with Canterbury Road, forming a cross intersection with Bedford Street which runs to the north from Canterbury Road to Albion Road.

Traffic islands and turn restrictions installed at the intersection prohibit right turn movements into and out of both Hay Street and Bedford Street as shown in Figure 4-2.

Subject Site



Figure 4-2 Canterbury Road / Hay Street / Bedford Street Intersection

Kitchener Street is a local road running north-south between Canterbury Road and Foch Street. The street has a 7.3 metre wide road pavement allowing two way traffic and intermittent kerbside parking.

Kitchener Street intersects with Canterbury Road to form a T junction. Fully directional movements are permitted at the intersection with Canterbury Road, with Kitchener Street flared on the approach to Canterbury Road to provide separate left and right turn lanes as shown in Figure 4-3.



Figure 4-3 Canterbury / Kitchener Street Intersection

Jellicoe Street and Halsey Street are local streets approximately 250 metres in length running east west between Hay Street and Kitchener Street. Both streets have pavement widths of 7.3 metres

Peppermint Grove is a private street that forms an L – shape between Canterbury Road and Hay Street. Canterbury Road has been widened at the intersection of Peppermint Grove to provide for auxiliary turn lanes into Peppermint Grove, and a right turn lane into Barkly Street to the north.



Figure 4-4 Peppermint Grove / Canterbury Road Intersection

4.3 Traffic Volumes In order to determine existing volumes on the adjacent road network, my firm commissioned traffic movement surveys at the gateway intersections to the residential sub cell immediately adjacent to the subject site bounded by Gardiner’s Creek to the east, Canterbury Road to the north and Kitchener Street to the west.

The surveys were undertaken on Tuesday 5th August 2014 between 6:30am to 10:30am and 3:30pm to 7:30pm at the intersections identified in Figure 4-5.



Figure 4-5 Surveyed Intersections

The surveys showed that the sub cell generated a total of 353 trips during the AM peak hour and 267 trips during the PM peak.

These trips left the sub cell via either Canterbury Road or local streets accessed from Kitchener Street as illustrated in Figure 4-6

The distribution of these trips is set out within Table 4-1.

Subject Site

Residential Sub-Cell



Figure 4-6 Existing AM and PM Peak Traffic Flows into and out of the Hay Street Sub Cell

Table 4-1 Distribution of Traffic Movements into and out of the Hay Street Sub Cell Direction Road AM Peak PM Peak

Inbound Outbound Inbound Outbound

North-East Canterbury Road 54% 8% 36% 13%

North-West Canterbury Road 24% 34% 31% 49%

West Prince Street / Peace Street 9% 30% 15% 20%

South-West Foch Street 13% 28% 18% 18%

Total 100% 100% 100% 100%



4.4 Traffic Previously Generated By Subject Site

4.4.1 Hays International College Hays International College currently operates from the subject site and provides secondary school education and training for both local and international students. I have been advised that the college previously operated with approximately 400 students on-site during typical school hours, although current enrolments are considerably lower.

Tube counts undertaken by GTA Consultants documented in the application report show the College site generated an average of 84 vehicle movements per day in October 2011.

4.4.2 St. Leo’s Boys College St. Leos College operated out of the subject site between 1957 and 1994 as a Catholic Boys School.

Whilst no indication of student numbers or associated traffic generation from its operation are known, it is clear that the school was a significant traffic generator. It appears likely that the current traffic management treatment at Hay Street / Canterbury Road limiting movements to left in / left out was implemented. At least in part, to manage traffic movements associated with movements of traffic to the Hay Street campus of St Leo’s College.



4.5 Public Transport The subject site has reasonable access to sustainable transport modes and public transport services as shown in Figure 4-7 and Table 4-2 below.

Figure 4-7 Public Transport Services

Table 4-2 Public Transport Services Service Route No. Route Description Nearest Stop

Bus 733 Oakleigh - Box Hill via Clayton, Monash University, Mt Waverley Middleborough Road (600m)

735 Box Hill to Nunawading Haig Street (400m)

765 Mitcham - Box Hill via Brentford Square, Forest Hill, Blackburn Canterbury Road (400m)

Train Box Hill Station 1,600m

Laburnum Station 1,400m

Blackburn Station 2,000m

Bus route 765 runs along Barkly Street and Canterbury Road connecting between Box Hill Station and Mitcham Station. The nearest stops to the subject site are in Canterbury Road 200 metres east of Hay Street and 140 metres east of the pedestrian overpass approximately 400 metres from the site.

Bus Route 735 runs along Haig Street connecting between Box Hill Station and Nunawading via East Burwood and Forest Hill Shopping Centres. The nearest stop to the subject site is in Haig Street at Pearce Street approximately 400 metres walking distance from the site.

Subject Site



5 External Traffic Impact

5.1 Traffic Generation and Distribution In assessing the traffic to be generated by the proposed uses on-site, I have adopted the following traffic generation rates per dwelling based on traffic generation data collected by Cardno at a range of residential dwelling types within middle ring suburbs of Melbourne.

> Dwellings (detached houses)– 9 movements per day

> Townhouses – 7 movements per day

> Apartments – 5.5 movements per day

> Retirement Living – 2.5 movements per day

I note that the rates are very similar to the rates adopted by GTA in the traffic impact assessment report which accompanied the application and the report of Charmaine Dunstan of Traffix Group in her assessment of the development at 988 Canterbury Road, which were accepted and endorsed in the VCAT determination.

Table 5-1 Development Schedule Use Number /

Area Rate Traffic Generation

Standard Living AM Peak Hour PM Peak Hour Daily Traffic

Detached Houses 17 9 / day 15 15 153

Townhouses 26 7 / day 18 18 182

Apartments 171 5.5 /day 94 94 941

Retirement Living

Detached Houses 45 2.5 / day 11 11 113

Apartments 53 13 13 133

Total 312 151 151 1,521

The distribution of future traffic volumes generated by the proposed development on the site has been distributed, in the first instance, having regard to existing traffic distributions for the immediate area, surveyed by my firm and summarised in Table 4-1.

I have further assumed that 80% of movements during the AM peak are outbound and 20% inbound. During the PM peak I have assumed that 40% of movements are outbound and 60% inbound.

Based on the above, the turning movements generated by the development at the intersections of Canterbury Road with Hay Street and Kitchener Street can be estimated. The development traffic flows, in addition to the traffic expected to be generated by the approved development at 988 Canterbury Road are provided in Figure 5-1 below.



Figure 5-1 Generated Turning Movements

5.2 Intersection Capacity and Operation In order to determine the traffic carrying capacity of the critical intersections along Canterbury Road and Station Street Cardno commissioned gap acceptance surveys at the following intersections.

> Canterbury Road / Kitchener Street

> Station Street / Surrey Street; and

> Station Street / Foch Street

The turning movement capacities on Canterbury Road are illustrated in Figure 5-2 and show a range of intersection capacities based on varying critical gap and follow up headway values. These values are based on those prescribed in the Austroads Guide to Road Design – Part 4A: Unsignalised and Signalised Intersections and those recommended within the SIDRA INTERSECTION software. The SIDRA values vary slightly from the Austroads guidelines and provide more flexibility in matching varying intersection geometry.

Table 5-2 provides a summary of the gap acceptance parameters utilised in this analysis.

Table 5-2 Critical Gap Acceptance and Follow Up Headways Movement Description of Opposing

Movements Austroads SIDRA Standard Model

Critical Gap (s)

Follow Up Headway (s)

Critical Gap (s)

Follow Up Headway (s)

Left Hand Turn from Minor Road

5 3 5 3

Right Hand Turn from Minor Road

Four lane / Two way 8 5 6-8 3-5

Right Hand Turn from Major Road

Across two lanes 5 3 4-5 2-3

It is assumed that the turning movement capacity at Hay Street will be equivalent to that surveyed at Kitchener Street given through-traffic volumes in both locations will be almost identical.



Figure 5-2 Turning Movement Capacity at Critical Intersections along Canterbury Road and Station Street

Based on the foregoing it can be stated that there is sufficient capacity at the critical intersections of Canterbury Road to accommodate all movements generated by the two development sites, with right-turn manoeuvres from Kitchener Street being the critical movement.

Specifically:

> The gap acceptance data shows that the right turn movement at this intersection has a capacity of between 26 and 73 movements in the AM peak and 19-51 movements in the PM peak;

> At present the intersection is carrying 19 right turn movements during the AM peak and 7 right turn movements during the PM peak, with demand for this movement expected to increase to 31 and 17 right turn movements during the AM and PM peak period respectively.

The projected demand for right turn movements during both the AM and PM peak periods therefore falls within the range of recorded capacity.

5.3 SIDRA Analysis The operation of the Kitchener Street / Canterbury Road intersection was analysed using SIDRA Intersection for both existing and future conditions. This computer package, originally developed by the Australian Road Research Board, provides information about the capacity of an intersection in terms of a range of parameters, as described below:

Degree of Saturation (D.O.S.) is the ratio of the volume of traffic observed making a particular movement compared to the maximum capacity for that movement. Various values of degree of saturation and their rating are shown in Table 5-3.

Table 5-3 Rating of Degrees of Saturation D.O.S. Rating

Up to 0.6 Excellent

0.6 to 0.7 Very Good

0.7 to 0.8 Good

0.8 to 0.9 Fair

0.9 to 1.0 Poor

Above 1.0 Very Poor



It is considered acceptable for some critical movements in an intersection to operate in the range of 0.9 to 1.0 during the high peak periods, reflecting actual conditions in a significant proportion of suburban signalised intersections.

The 95th Percentile (95%ile) Queue represents the maximum queue length, in metres, that can be expected in 95% of observed queue lengths in the peak hour; and

Average Delay is the delay time, in seconds, which can be expected over all vehicles making a particular movement in the peak hour.

The results of the analysis are presented in Table 5-4 below.

Table 5-4 SIDRA Intersection Analysis Summary Approach Movement Degree of Saturation 95th%ile Queue Average Delay

Existing Proposed Existing Proposed Existing Proposed

AM P

eak

Kitchener Street (S) Left 0.05 0.05 1 1 10 10

Right 0.47 0.86 9 20 111 207

Canterbury Road (E) Left 0.38 0.40 0 0 6 6

Through 0.38 0.40 0 0 0 0

Canterbury Road (W) Through 0.31 0.34 49 49 10 10

Right 0.31 0.34 49 49 30 34

Intersection 0.47 0.86

PM P

eak

Kitchener Street (S) Left 0.03 0.03 1 1 8 8

Right 0.20 0.61 4 11 97 179

Canterbury Road (E) Left 0.25 0.26 0 0 6 6

Through 0.25 0.26 0 0 0 0

Canterbury Road (W) Through 0.42 0.46 59 59 6 6

Right 0.42 0.46 59 59 17 19

Intersection 0.42 0.61

*Note – Assumes critical and follow up gaps of 6 and 4 seconds respectively for the right-turn out from Kitchener Street based on observations on-site. The remainder of gap acceptance criteria are based on SIDRA defaults

As indicated above, the Kitchener Street / Canterbury Road intersection is expected to operate under ‘fair’ and ‘very good’ conditions during the AM and PM peaks respectively. The critical movement following development of the site (and 988 Canterbury Road) is the right-turn out from Kitchener Street, as expected during the commuter peak hours.

In applying a critical gap and follow-up headway of 6 and 4 seconds for the Kitchener Street right-turn out movement, the SIDRA model calculates a theoretical capacity for 38 and 30 movements during the AM and PM peaks respectively. This is in contrast to the right-turn capacity calculated from gap surveys undertaken at the same intersection. These surveys indicate turning movement capacities of 64 and 40 movements during the respective AM and PM commuter peaks. Noting this, it is evident that SIDRA underestimates the actual capacity by between 25 and 40%.

In practice, at times of high peak, motorists will adjust trip routes to the arterial network where required to avoid queues and delays. This currently occurs at all minor road intersections along Canterbury Road.

In view of the above, I am satisfied that there remains sufficient level of capacity for additional turning movements to be absorbed following development of the subject site and 988 Canterbury Road.

5.4 Traffic Increases in Neighbouring Residential Street The proposed development will result in increases to traffic utilising the surrounding residential streets to gain access to the arterial road network and ultimate trip destinations. An assessment of the ultimate traffic volumes carried by the surrounding streets is provided below in Table 5-5 overleaf.



Table 5-5 Ultimate Daily Traffic Volumes Road Traffic Volumes (Vehicles Per Day Road

Classification (Clause 56)

Theoretical Capacity

Existing Additional Total % Increase

Jellico Street 140 365 505 261% Access Street Level 2: 7-

7.5m carriageway, with on-street car parking

2,000-3,000

Halsey Street West 300 362 662 121%

Halsey Street East 300 699 999 233%

Beaver Street 150 258 408 172%

Foch Street West 600 304 904 51%

Foch Street East 200 213 413 106%

Hay Street 350 456 806 130%

Kitchener Street North 925 456 1,381 49%

Kitchener Street South 500 91 591 18%

Prince Street East 180 125 305 69%

Prince Street West 270 158 428 59%

Peace Street 320 146 466 46%

As indicated above, surrounding streets will experience an increase in traffic, which while likely to be discernible, remain well within the recommended upper limit volumes for an access street level 2 as specified in the Planning Scheme.



6 Review of Vic Roads Conditions

6.1 Audit Map of Community Facilities In response to VicRoads’ permit conditions requesting the preparation of an audit map of community facilities, Figure 6-1 below has been prepared.

Figure 6-1 Community Facilities Audit Map

The map above illustrates a number of community facilities and locations likely to be accessed by residents of the proposed development and the respective public transport facilities that could provide access to these locations.

6.2 Need for Improved Pedestrian Facilities on Canterbury Road In my view, existing pedestrian facilities in Canterbury Road are more than adequate to cater for likely demands generated by future residents of the retirement village (and conventional residential) components of the subject development for the following reasons:

The site has convenient access to the route 735 bus service running along Haig Street, which provides direct access to facilities at Box Hill, Forest Hill, East Burwood Shopping Centre and Nunawading without crossing Canterbury Road,

I am instructed that a community bus will be provided for use of retirement village residents, providing access to nearby facilities directly from the site,

Existing pedestrian facilities, including the existing overpass east of Hay Street, provides convenient and safe opportunities for pedestrian access across Canterbury Road.



6.3 Impact of Development at 988 Canterbury Road As indicated previously, the approved development at 988 Canterbury Road was projected to generate in the order of 390 vehicle movements per day, including 39 movements during each of the commuter peak hours.

Traffic volumes generated by this development, can be absorbed by the surrounding local street and arterial network.

6.4 Crash Stats Review A review has been undertaken of the VicRoads Road Crash Statistics for the section of Canterbury Road between Hay Street and Kitchener Street. The data collected has considered the most current 5 year period, being the period between July 2008 and June 2013.

The data shows that during this 5 year period there have been a total of 5 accidents along Canterbury Road between Hay Street and Kitchener Street as summarised in Table 6-1 below.

Table 6-1 Road Crash Statistics – Canterbury Road between Kitchener Street and Hay Street Location Date Accident Description

Canterbury Road / Kitchener Street

21st December 2009

Westbound vehicle on Canterbury Road veered into eastbound carriageway colliding with two vehicles

Canterbury Road / Kitchener Street

26th May 2013 Eastbound driver crossed onto wrong side of road and collided with an oncoming vehicle

Canterbury Road b/w Barkly Street and Bedford Street

16th July 2012 Westbound vehicle on Canterbury Road veered into eastbound carriageway and collided with two vehicles

Canterbury Road west of Bedford Street

26th February 2010

Cyclist travelling east on Canterbury Road struck from behind by eastbound vehicle

Canterbury Road / Bedford Street

26th November 2012

Two eastbound vehicles on Canterbury Road collided with the rear of stationary vehicles queued at upstream traffic signals

As illustrated in the table above there is no history along Canterbury Road relating to turning movements into or out of the minor roads i.e. Hay Street or Kitchener Street and in particular right turn movements out of Kitchener Street.

6.5 Review of Mitigating Works Options

6.5.1 Retention of Existing Traffic Control and Access Arrangements

The current application proposes the integration of the development site with the neighbouring residential community to the west, utilising the existing permeable street network to allow efficient distribution of traffic movements.

Analysis undertaken by GTA in conjunction with the application and my review of the expected operation of the network contained in this evidence statement show that additional traffic can readily be absorbed. Traffic will distribute to the arterial network utilising a number of options available, supplementing the existing left in / left out direct access via Canterbury Road / Hay Street.

Traffic increases in neighbouring east west streets are acceptable in the context of the existing function of those streets and available environmental capacity measured against guidelines in the Whitehorse Planning Scheme. Sufficient capacity is available at intersections to Canterbury Road, including the Kitchener Street intersection to the west, to accommodate projected increases in turning traffic at peak times.

6.5.2 Signalisation of Hay Street / Canterbury Road Intersection An option is available to facilitate access to the site by modification to the intersection of Canterbury Road Hay Street / Bedford Road to remove the left in / left out operation and install intersection signals allowing safe right turn movements.

In my opinion, this treatment is unnecessary, and arguably undesirable for the following reasons,



Traffic volumes likely to be generated by the subject site will fall well below the warrants for installation of intersection signals contained in Vic Roads Traffic Engineering Manual Vol 1 which recommend that “traffic signals may be considered subject to detailed analysis when either major road carries at least 60 vehicles per hour (two way) and the minor road carries at least 200 vehicles per hour (one way) on one approach over any 4 hours of an average day”.

Intersection signals at this location, catering for relative low volumes from the abutting local streets, would reduce the level of service of traffic on Canterbury Road.

The location of the intersection along Canterbury Road is not optimally located to provide access to the wider residential cells on either side of Canterbury Road, potentially resulting in undesirable distribution and concentration of existing traffic movements.

Signals at this location do not provide any benefit for existing bus route operation.

6.5.3 Road Closures to West of Hay Street

The previous proposal for the site contemplated closure of Halsey Street and Jellicoe Street to the west of Hay Street to mitigate traffic increases in existing local streets.

This treatment was not supported by the Panel which considered the proposal due to the undesirable isolation of Hay Street for the overall local street network and in my view, is not appropriate in conjunction with the subject application, with or without signalization of the Canterbury Road / Hay Street intersection.



7 Conclusions

Based on the preceding analysis it is concluded as follows:.

The proposed development of the subject site is expected to generate approximately 1500 vehicle movements per day to the neighbouring local street network, including 150 vehicle movements in the morning and afternoon commuter peaks.

Generated traffic will distribute to the arterial road network via the local street network predominantly to Canterbury Road via Hay Street and Kitchener Street and Station Street via Foch Street.

Sufficient capacity is available at arterial road intersections to absorb additional traffic generated from the subject site and the approved development at 988 Canterbury Road immediately to the north.

Traffic increases to neighbouring streets including Hay Street, Jellicoe Street and Halsey Street, while likely to be discernible, will remain well within the recommended upper limit volumes for access street level 2 as specified in the Planning Scheme.

The option to signalise the intersection of Hay Street / Canterbury Road / Bedford Road is considered unnecessary for the following reasons:

o Traffic volumes likely to be generated by the subject site will fall well below the warrants for installation of intersection signals contained in Vic Roads Traffic Engineering Manual Vol 1 which recommend that “traffic signals may be considered subject to detailed analysis when either major road carries at least 60 vehicles per hour (two way) and the minor road carries at least 200 vehicles per hour (one way) on one approach over any 4 hours of an average day”.

o Intersection signals at this location, catering for relative low volumes from the abutting local streets, would reduce the level of service of traffic on Canterbury Road.

o The location of the intersection along Canterbury Road is not optimally located to provide access to the wider residential cells on either side of Canterbury Road, potentially resulting in undesirable distribution and concentration of existing traffic movements.

o Signals at this location do not provide any benefit for existing bus route operation.

Existing pedestrian facilities in Canterbury Road are more than adequate to cater for likely demands generate by future residents of the retirement village (and conventional residential) components of the subject development.

Documents

Amendment C153 Whitehorse Planning Scheme - 15-31 Hay Street, Box Hill ... C1… · My name is Stephen John Hunt and I am a consultant traffic engineer with Cardno Victoria. ... accordance